The EAGLE Network. The EAGLE Network 1 st Semester 2018 Report

Transcription

1 significant wildlife traffickers and other criminals arrested in 9 countries 99 At least in 7 of the cases, corruption was so flagrant that it was exposed on the day of operation ivory traffickers arrested with almost 1 ton of ivory, which includes 132 tusks and 189 pieces 99 A major crackdown in Côte d Ivoire against an international ivory trafficking network. The leader, a Vietnamese national Tran Van Tu, was arrested in Abidjan with five other members of his network, a criminal syndicate that had been operating for years in at least seven different countries and was also involved in money laundering and human trafficking to China great ape traffickers arrested in 2 countries and 4 live chimpanzees rescued 99 92% of the arrested traffickers remained behind bars for the first week 9 9 1,471 media pieces on EAGLE arrests and prosecutions published in national media and over 12 international media pieces published 1 st semester 2018 report 1

2 1. Summary Tangible achievements were registered during 1 st semester of 2018 within the EAGLE Network. 104 significant traffickers were arrested in 9 countries. 693 investigation missions were carried out to identify the criminals. 92% of the arrested traffickers remained in prison at least in the beginning of their trial. During the semester 68 traffickers were prosecuted and condemned, 33 of them to imprisonment sentences of various time, while other remain behind the bars, waiting for the trial. Traffickers in ivory and other elephant parts represent the vast majority of arrests, while traffickers of big cat skins take second place and great apes traffickers the third. Corruption was prevalent in all levels of the enforcement and judicial process. At least in 7 of the operation, corruption was so flagrant that it was exposed on the day of operation. Often a corrupt government officer, an army man or a spiritual leader was involved in trafficking, or a traffic of influence or bribing attempt documented. A major crackdown in Côte d Ivoire against an international ivory trafficking network in January. The leader, a Vietnamese national Tran Van Tu, was arrested in Abidjan with five other members of his network, a criminal syndicate that had been operating for years in at least seven different countries and is estimated to have generated the slaughter of tens of thousands of elephants for their tusks. This arrest led to the confiscation of 478 kg ivory, over half a ton of pangolin scales, some packed and ready for export, four illegal handguns, leopard parts including crushed and boiled bones, 7 cutting and carving machines and more contraband. The head of the criminal organization in Cote d Ivoire is directly linked to two prior seizures, one in Vietnam and another in Cambodia, where 619 kg and 941 kg of Ivory was seized by authorities, respectively. The syndicate was also involved in money laundering and human trafficking to China. Moussa Ouedraogo, the right hand of Tran Van Tu, was arrested in March. Moussa was the one delivering tons of ivory in containers. He also played an important role in delivering the ivory for the syndicate. At the time of the arrest of the Vietnamese, Moussa was in Burkina Faso. After all the arrests in January his chances of reappearing were slim. But he did - probably because he felt protected by his complicity connections with the authorities in San Pedro. Because of the same corruption, the legal adviser of EAGLE Côte d Ivoire went alone to San Pedro, with two agents of the UCT, to start discretely verifying Moussa s presence without informing local authorities. After 48 hours of around the clock surveillance, Moussa was arrested in his house in an operation led by UCT and EAGLE Côte d Ivoire with the help of local gendarmerie. Trafficking Ivory and other elephant products represents most of the focus during this period resulting the largest number of arrested traffickers. 84 ivory traffickers were arrested during 31 operations in 7 countries. 132 tusks and 189 pieces of ivory, most of them carved, all together weighing almost one ton, were seized. 5 great ape traffickers were arrested in 2 operations in 2 countries and 2 baby chimps were rescued. A trafficker arrested with two young mandrills, and two more chimpanzees were rescued when EAGLE teams provided support to authorities during their seizure and transport. In order to provide a deterrent effect, 1,471 media pieces on EAGLE arrests and prosecutions were published in national media in eight countries. The distribution of the media pieces on national media were 24% in print media, 60% on internet, 29% in radio and 10% on TV. 1 st semester 2018 report 2

3 Content: This report refers to activities from January till June This report includes: the activities in each area of our fight - Investigations, Operations, Legal, Media and External Relations; progress in developing the Network and strategic overview of our operations and their impact on wildlife crime. 1. Summary Structure of the Network Investigations Arrest Operations...6 Corruption...7 Elephants...9 Apes Pangolins Big Cats Reptiles Legal Follow up Media External Relations Headquarters and Development of the EAGLE Network Photos of the selected cases Annex - summary of the results st semester 2018 report 3

4 2. Structure of the Network EAGLE: Eco Activists for Governance and Law Enforcement, is a network of members across Africa, who are replicating effectively a program and operational model to undertake wildlife law enforcement, based on the LAGA-Cameroon model, trailed, practiced and tested since currently operates in eight African countries and keeps expanding. The over-arching objective of the EAGLE Network is: Developing civic activism and collaborating with governments and civil society to improve the application of national and international environmental legislation, through a program of activities: investigations, arrests, prosecutions and publicity. Through this, EAGLE aims to generate a strong deterrent against the illegal trade in wildlife, timber and related criminal activities, including corruption. The Central Coordination Unit is located in Nairobi. operates in these countries: 1. Cameroon - LAGA 2. The Republic of Congo - PALF 3. Gabon - AALF 4. Guinea - GALF 5. Togo - EAGLE Togo 6. Benin -AALF-B 7. Senegal - SALF 8. Côte d Ivoire - EAGLE Côte d Ivoire SALF Senegal GALF Guinea EAGLE Côte d Ivoire EAGLE Togo AALF-B Benin LAGA Cameroon AALF Gabon PALF Congo - Brazzaville 1 st semester 2018 report 4

5 3. Investigations 693 different investigation missions were carried out in all 8 countries, leading to the arrest of 104 traffickers in the first semester of The investigations focused mainly on ivory trafficking but also on ape trafficking, illegal trade with big cat skins and pangolin scales and organized illegal trade reptiles Numbers of investigations in January - June January February March April May June Fig. 1: Numbers of investigations in January June 2018 The number of investigation is a result of intense recruitment process, leading to strengthening the teams and investigation departments. In all countries new investigators were tested and they joined the teams. Intense recruitment processes continue in all the countries to find more good investigators. 1 st semester 2018 report 5

6 4. Arrest Operations 104 significant wildlife traffickers and other criminals were arrested. EAGLE Network members carried out 41 operations in 8 countries of Central and West East Africa. Number of Arrested Traffickers in January - June January February March April May June Fig. 2: Number of arrested traffickers in January - June 2018 Vast majority of the arrested traffickers - 81% were traffickers of ivory and other elephant parts. Second largest number concerns traffickers in big cat skins and other body parts 8%. Third in focus of arrests were great ape traffickers with 6% of all the arrests, while pangolin scale traffickers made 4% and reptile traffickers 2%. 1 st semester 2018 report 6

7 Distribution of the Arrested Traffickers According to Species 1,92% 5,77% 3,85% 7,69% 80,77% elephants great apes pangolins big cats reptiles Fig. 3: Distribution of Arrested Traffickers According to Species Corruption Corruption was prevalent in all levels of the enforcement and judicial process. At least in 7 of the operation, corruption was so flagrant that it was exposed on the day of operation. Often a corrupt government officer, an army man or a spiritual leader was involved in trafficking, or a traffic of influence or bribing attempt documented. Some examples are presented here: A major crackdown in Côte d Ivoire against an international ivory trafficking network in January. The leader, a Vietnamese national Tran Van Tu, was arrested in Abidjan with five other members of his network, a criminal syndicate that had been operating for years in at least seven different countries and is estimated to have generated the slaughter of tens of thousands of elephants for their tusks. This arrest led to the confiscation of 478 kg ivory, over half a ton of pangolin scales, some packed and ready for export, four illegal handguns, leopard parts including crushed and boiled bones, 7 cutting and carving machines and more contraband. The head of the criminal organization in Cote d Ivoire is directly linked to two prior seizures, one in Vietnam and another in Cambodia, where 619 kg and 941 kg of Ivory was seized by authorities, respectively. The syndicate was also involved in money laundering and human trafficking to China. Moussa Ouedraogo, the right hand of Tran Van Tu, was arrested in March. Moussa was the one delivering tons of ivory in containers. He also played an important role in delivering the ivory for the syndicate. At the time of the arrest of the Vietnamese, Moussa was in Burkina Faso. After all the arrests in January his chances of reappearing were slim. But he did - probably because he felt protected by his complicity connections with the authorities in San Pedro. Because of the same corruption, the legal adviser of EAGLE Côte d Ivoire went alone to San Pedro, with two agents of the UCT, to start discretely verifying Moussa s 1 st semester 2018 report 7

8 presence without informing local authorities. After 48 hours of around the clock surveillance, Moussa was arrested in his house in an operation led by UCT and EAGLE Côte d Ivoire with the help of local gendarmerie. 3 traffickers, one of them former army officer, arrested in Congo in February; one of them a DRC national. They transported the contraband to the place of transaction in a canoe, concealed in a bag. They all are long-term traffickers, well connected to networks in the country as well as abroad. 2 traffickers arrested with 121 carved ivory objects in Cameron in March; one of them the owner of an art and craft shop on the ground floor of a popular Yaoundé hotel, displaying the ivory among wooden art objects. She is a notorious trafficker, dealing ivory for more than 40 years and working with a large supplying network. She was getting cover from her husband, an army colonel, who used his influence to get her out of jail. The other trafficker, a seller in the shop, was arrested as well. GALF followed a case of leopard skin trafficker, arrested by wildlife authorities with one leopard skin at the end of March. Thanks to good support of the legal adviser, two more traffickers were arrested in April, one of them the head of hunter s association and the other one the government official, the conservator of Tinkisso protected area. The trafficker public official - has been trained within a conservation program this example of corrupt behaviour creates the grounds for our push for more investments in governance building and control of corruption. In March this year the corrupt official was brought to participate at EU workshop on the launch of a 5-million-euro Security Sector Reform Project. A trafficker arrested with a leopard skin in April in Guinea. The imam of a mosque from an influential family was arrested near a bus station. Trying to create a riot and blaming police for kidnapping did not prevent the team from putting him behind bars. 4 ivory traffickers including a corrupt gendarme arrested at a coast town of Gabon in May. First a Nigerian trafficker was arrested during an attempt to sell 27 kg of ivory. As a head of a large ivory trafficking ring operating in coastal area of South Gabon he had been in a target of investigations for several months. He was arrested while attempting to traffic a large amount of ivory, concealed in a box. He denounced three more criminals, including a corrupt gendarme at the Naval Brigade, who was providing poachers with ammunition. The two poachers, one of them from Mali, were arrested as well, and more ammunition was found during a house search. 6 ivory traffickers including an army man arrested in the capital city of Benin in June with 4 ivory tusks. The soldier, who organized the transaction, was arrested together with four other traffickers in a restaurant in the act. At the police station they quickly denounced the last trafficker, who was arrested the same day at his house. He had links to other trafficking ring in the country, trafficking ivory regularly, bringing these 4 tusks from Niger. 1 st semester 2018 report 8

9 Elephants Trafficking Ivory and other elephant products represents most of the focus during this period resulting in the largest number of arrested traffickers. 84 ivory traffickers were arrested during 31 operations in 7 countries. 132 tusks and 189 pieces of ivory, most of them carved, all together weighing almost one ton, were seized. Some examples are presented here: A major crackdown in Côte d Ivoire against an international ivory trafficking network in January. The leader, a Vietnamese national Tran Van Tu, was arrested in Abidjan with five other members of his network, a criminal syndicate that had been operating for years in at least seven different countries and is estimated to have generated the slaughter of tens of thousands of elephants for their tusks. This arrest led to the confiscation of 478 kg ivory, over half a ton of pangolin scales, some packed and ready for export, four illegal handguns, leopard parts including crushed and boiled bones, 7 cutting and carving machines and more contraband. The head of the criminal organization in Cote d Ivoire is directly linked to two prior seizures, one in Vietnam and another in Cambodia, where 619 kg and 941 kg of Ivory was seized by authorities, respectively. The syndicate was also involved in money laundering and human trafficking to China. Moussa Ouedraogo the right hand of Tran Van Tu, was arrested in March. Moussa was the one delivering tons of ivory in containers. He also played an important role in delivering the ivory for the syndicate. At the time of the arrest of the Vietnamese, Moussa was in Burkina Faso. After all the arrests in January his chances of reappearing were slim. But he did - probably because he felt protected by his complicity connections with the authorities in San Pedro. Because of the same corruption, the legal adviser of EAGLE Côte d Ivoire went alone to San Pedro, with two agents of the UCT, to start discretely verifying Moussa s presence without informing local authorities. After 48 hours of around the clock surveillance, Moussa was arrested in his house in an operation led by UCT and EAGLE Côte d Ivoire with the help of local gendarmerie. 6 traffickers arrested with 15 tusks in the north of Congo in January. One member of the ring is Cameroonian and he had been organizing poaching squads. The ring was activating poachers, supplying guns and ammunition. An automatic assault rifle with 4 magazines was seized as well as a motorcycle, used to transport the contraband. For transport to the place of transaction the traffickers concealed the ivory under a carpet in the trunk of a taxi, in the space used for a spare wheel, so it went unnoticed at checkpoints. 4 traffickers arrested with 16 tusks in Gabon in January. One of them was arrested in the act in a motel, trying to sell the contraband, concealed in a rice bag, while the other two were waiting in neighbouring room for their share. A fourth one, the uncle of the traffickers, got arrested for corruption after attempting to bribe officers in order to release the traffickers. 3 ivory traffickers arrested in Gabon in January with 2 tusks. One of them, a Burkina Faso national, was already monitored by police when arriving to a hotel on a motorbike with the contraband concealed in a black travel bag. Few minutes later he was arrested in the act when he was weighing the ivory to proceed with the transaction. He denounced two other traffickers who were arrested on the same day. An ivory trafficker arrested in Gabon in January with 4 tusks. He was arrested in an attempt to sell the ivory in an apartment building and remains behind bars awaiting trial. 1 st semester 2018 report 9

10 3 ivory traffickers arrested in an attempt to sell 2 tusks in Gabon in January. Two of them, of Malian nationality, were arrested in the act when they tried to sell the tusks. The third one was arrested one day later after he fell in a trap, when he was going to pick up his share for the transaction. A trafficker arrested with worked ivory in a mining town in Guinea in January, trying to sell 9 ivory necklaces and 4 bracelets. He is a sculptor, connected to a highly organized ring of traffickers with connection to Chinese traffickers, to whom he had been selling ivory for years. He remains behind bars, awaiting trial. 3 traffickers arrested with 25kg ivory, 100 hippo teeth weighing and 50kg pangolin scales in January in Uganda. They are Ugandans, residing in Congo, and trafficking various kinds of contraband for years, getting it from Congo or nearby Murchison Falls National Park. An ivory trafficker arrested with 3 tusks and 124 pieces of hippo ivory in January in Uganda. He is a repeat offender, already arrested for trafficking ivory and illegal possession of firearms in traffickers, one of them former army officer, arrested in Congo in February with 4 tusks, one of them a DRC national. They transported the contraband to the place of transaction in a canoe, concealed in a bag. They all are long-term traffickers, well connected to networks in the country as well as abroad. 3 traffickers arrested with 4 ivory tusks in Cameroon in March. 2 of them, members of a large trafficking ring, were intercepted along a major highway, often used to transport ivory from South to major towns. A rifle, military uniforms, electronic weighing scales and other equipment were seized from them. The rifle was handed to them by a widow of a police commissioner that got arrested as well. The used military uniforms were given by a colonel, a relative of one of the traffickers. 2 traffickers arrested with 121 carved ivory objects in Cameroon in March, one of them the owner of an art and craft shop on the ground floor of a popular Yaoundé hotel, displaying the ivory among wooden art objects. She is a notorious trafficker, dealing ivory for more than 40 years and working with a large supplying network. She was getting cover from her husband, an army colonel, who used his influence to get her out of jail. The other trafficker, a seller in the shop, was arrested as well. 2 traffickers arrested with 3 ivory tusks and 6.5 kg of giant pangolin scales in Congo in March. The traffickers are connected to trafficking rings in Congo and Gabon. They smuggled the ivory and pangolin scales across the border from Gabon, concealed in a travel bag. The first trafficker was arrested in the act during an attempt to sell the ivory, the second was denounced by the first and arrested two days later. 3 ivory traffickers arrested in the capital city with 2 tusks cut to 4 pieces and an elephant tail in Gabon in March. They trafficked the ivory from the east of the country and were arrested in an attempt to sell it. An ivory trafficker, a repeat offender, arrested in Gabon in March., after he was released by mistake from jail during a presidential pardon. He was arrested and prosecuted for the first time in 2014, but in August 2017 he was arrested again and sentenced 1 year in jail. He still has to serve 7 months. An ivory trafficker arrested with 5 tusks in Gabon in March. He was surprised by the operation team during an attempt to sell the tusks in a hotel. 3 ivory traffickers arrested with 8 ivory tusks in Congo in April. They transported the ivory to the place of transaction on a canoe, concealed in a bag of cassava flour, to deceive the authorities. They are con- 1 st semester 2018 report 10

11 nected to a ring of traffickers operating at the border area with Democratic Republic of Congo. They were swiftly prosecuted and sentenced to jail, one of them for 3 years, the two others for 2 years in prison. 4 traffickers arrested in Gabon in April with 6 ivory tusks. One of them is Malian worker of a logging company, another, an Ivorian, is a security guard of the same logging company. Three of them were arrested in their vehicle during an attempt to sell 4 tusks. After the arrest upon arriving to the police station they denounced the fourth trafficker, who was swiftly arrested in his house with two more ivory tusks. He had been leading a network of poachers, supplying him ivory for many years. 4 traffickers arrested with an ivory tusk, pangolin scales and elephant bones in Cameroon in May. They used motorbikes to transport the contraband as it is very flexible and easy to use for escape when threatened. They were arrested shortly after they began negotiations to sell the contraband, originating from the Santchou wildlife reserve that has been depleted of its wildlife resources and now is in a very bad state. One of the traffickers has been known by the conservator of the reserve as a major target for arrest. He was very alert and attempted to escape when he realized the team was moving in for the operation. An ivory trafficker was arrested with 7 ivory tusks and hippo teeth in Cameroon in May as he attempted to move the ivory from its hideout. He transported the contraband concealed inside a truck with cattle from the North where he bought the ivory to East of the country. The operation uncovers a new trafficking route with the opposite direction to that used by ivory traffickers generally. Usually ivory is trafficked from the South and East regions to the North where it crosses border to Nigeria that has not yet put in place strong wildlife law enforcement measures. But this time the ivory was trafficked from the North to the East. The trafficker also dealt in leopard and lion skins as well. An ivory trafficker arrested in Congo in May of the country with 2 ivory tusks, 5 elephant tails, hippo teeth and other contraband. He used his shop and practice of a traditional healer to cover his illegal activities, while he trafficked wildlife contraband as far as the major cities of the country and beyond the Congo border in Gabon. 4 ivory traffickers including a corrupt gendarme arrested at a coast town of Gabon in May. First a Nigerian trafficker was arrested during an attempt to sell 27 kg of ivory. As a head of a large ivory trafficking ring operating in coastal area of South Gabon he had been in a target of investigations for several months. He was arrested while attempting to traffic a large amount of ivory, concealed in a box. He denounced three more criminals, including a corrupt gendarme at the Naval Brigade, who was providing poachers with ammunition. The two poachers, one of them from Mali, were arrested as well, and more ammunition was found during a house search. A logging company officer arrested in Gabon in May trafficking two tusks in the centre of the country. He has been trafficking ivory for months, and finally was arrested in the act with the ivory concealed in a bag. An ivory trafficker arrested with 2 ivory tusks, elephant hairs and leopard teeth in Gabon in May. He was arrested during an attempt to sell the contraband, which was concealed in his backpack. Later he admitted killing the elephant. 1 st semester 2018 report 11

12 3 traffickers arrested with 2 ivory tusks, one of them Nigerian, in Gabon inn May. The Nigerian trafficker, well known to authorities as a long-term criminal, was arrested in a hotel room when he was waiting for his client. He quickly denounced two more traffickers involved in the case, they were arrested afterwards in their houses. 4 ivory traffickers arrested with 4 tusks in Gabon in May. First of them, a notorious Nigerian trafficker, was arrested in the act with the contraband. After arriving to the police station, he denounced three other traffickers involved in the illegal activity. They were arrested the same day. An ivory trafficker, a member of a large ivory trafficking ring, arrested with 4 tusks and 2 ivory pieces in Gabon in June. He was connected to circles to poachers, who used to provide him with the ivory in the region. He was also involved in an illegal mining of gold. He transported the ivory across the country through several police posts concealed in a travel bag, only to be surprised by the team when he spread the contraband on a floor to show it to his buyer. An ivory trafficker arrested in Gabon in June with two tusks. A member of an organized trafficking and poaching ring was arrested in the act in a hotel room, a rifle caliber 12 and some ammunition was found in his house. An ivory and pangolin scales trafficker arrested in Gabon in June. He was arrested in the act when unpacking the two tusks, elephant tail and 3 kg of giant pangolin scales from a bag, which he used to conceal the contraband. He admitted he shot the animals few weeks before and intended to sell the tusks and the scales. 6 ivory traffickers including an army man arrested in Benin in June with 4 ivory tusks. The soldier, who organized the transaction, was arrested together with four other traffickers in a restaurant in the act. At the police station they quickly denounced the last trafficker, who was arrested the same day at his house. He had links to other trafficking ring in the country, trafficking ivory regularly, bringing these 4 tusks from Niger. 5 ivory traffickers were arrested in Benin in June. Two traffickers were arrested in a hotel during an attempt to sell 2 tusks and one piece of ivory right after they arrived with the contraband concealed in a plastic bag. They denounced a father of one of them, the owner of the ivory, who was arrested in his house. Two more traffickers were arrested later, when they wanted to pick up their share of the illegally made profit. Apes 5 great ape traffickers were arrested in 2 operations in 2 countries and 2 baby chimps were rescued. A trafficker arrested with two young mandrills, and two more chimpanzees were rescued when EAGLE teams provided support to authorities during their seizure and transport. A baby chimp rescued and 3 ape and pangolin traffickers arrested in Cameroon in January. One of the three is a Niger national. The baby chimp was found concealed inside a toilet of a house belonging to one of the traffickers; 80 kg of pangolin scales were behind the main door. Two traffickers were arrested inside 1 st semester 2018 report 12

13 the house, the third, who arrived on a bike, stumbled on the arresting team that gave him no chance as he attempted to escape. The baby chimp has been taken to the Mvogbetsi zoo that lacks appropriate structure, the expertise and the manpower to cater for the chimp, which risks dying from negligence, therefore LAGA team pushed the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife to send him to an appropriate sanctuary. A trafficker arrested in South Cameroon in April with two live young mandrills, which he had kept in a dilapidated and small cage at his residence. He had been keeping the female illegally for a couple of years and recently bought a male. He then decided to sell the two shortly before he was arrested. He was well known in the area for keeping protected species and had been given assurances by a corrupt wildlife officer that he could keep the mandrill without any fears. 2 traffickers arrested, and a baby chimp rescued in Guinea in June. First trafficker was arrested during an attempt to sell the baby, and soon he denounced his sister, who had been holding the chimp for several days after it was trafficked from Boke mining area, where the chimp s family probably fell victim to the bushmeat trade. The small male, who was very weak and in a bad condition, was quickly handed to professionals from the Chimpanzee Conservation Center for lifetime care. This is the 20 th chimp saved in a GALF arrest operation since 2012, when the project started. A chimpanzee baby was rescued by the joint team of Conservation Justice and Wildlife officers in January, and handed to the International Center for Medical Research in Franceville to receive a proper care. The PALF team supported the Anti-Poaching Unit in the transport of a juvenile chimpanzee seized during a patrol in a poaching camp on the North of the country in April. The baby chimp was transported to the Tchimpounga rehabilitation Centre where he quickly recovered from being malnourished and dehydrated. Pangolins 4 pangolin scales traffickers were arrested in 2 operations in Cameroon, pangolin scales were also seized in 5 ivory operations. More than 700 kg of scales were seized. Pangolins are rapidly driven to extinction, as the booming illegal trade threatening them is on an exponential increase. They are currently the most trafficked animal in the world. Some examples are presented here: A major crackdown in Côte d Ivoire against an international ivory trafficking network in January led also to pangolin scales seizure. The leader, a Vietnamese national Tran Van Tu, was arrested in Abidjan with five other members of his network, a criminal syndicate that had been operating for years in at least seven different countries and is estimated to have generated the slaughter of tens of thousands of elephants for their tusks. This arrest led to the confiscation of 478 kg ivory, over 500 kg of pangolin scales, some packed and ready for export, four illegal handguns, leopard parts including crushed and boiled bones, 7 cutting and carving machines and more contraband. The head of the criminal organization in Cote d Ivoire is directly linked to two prior seizures, one in Vietnam and another in Cambodia, where 619 kg and 941 kg of Ivory was seized by authorities, respectively. The syndicate was also involved in money laundering and human trafficking to China. 1 st semester 2018 report 13

14 A trafficker arrested in front of his bar with 40 kg of pangolin scales, 6 hippo teeth and 2 boa skins in Cameroon in February. He is known as a notorious trafficker, dealing in several illegal products including gold, with connections to Chinese traffickers. He used his bar not only for selling drinks but as a cover for wildlife trafficking. 3 traffickers arrested with 35kg of pangolin scales in Cameroon in May. First two traffickers were arrested with a bag containing the pangolin scales and were taken to the gendarmerie brigade alongside two bikes they had used for transporting the contraband. The third one escaped leaving behind his bike. When he realized that the bike had been impounded, he arrived to the gendarmerie brigade to bribe for the release of the bike and was immediately arrested. He had been collecting pangolin scales from surrounding villages and supplying to other traffickers from the big commercial centers of Yaoundé and Douala. Big Cats 8 big cat traffickers were arrested in 5 operations in 3 countries. 5 leopard skins, 2 lion heads and 1 leopard head together with other body parts of big cats were seized. Some examples are presented here: 2 traffickers arrested with two skins of lion heads, one of a leopard and several other skin parts in Senegal in February. The two brothers, notorious traffickers, used a shop, owned by one of them, as a cover for their illegal activities. They were arrested at their father s house during the attempt to sell the contraband. A Guinean trafficker arrested with a leopard skin and 4 skins of bushbuck in Senegal in March. He has been trafficking wildlife contraband between Guinea and Senegal for years. He was arrested in his shop during the attempt to sell the skins. GALF followed a case of leopard skin trafficker, arrested by wildlife authorities with one leopard skin at the end of March. Thanks to good support of the legal adviser, two more traffickers were arrested in April, one of them the head of hunter s association and the other one the government official, the conservator of Tinkisso protected area. The trafficker public official - has been trained within a conservation program this example of corrupt behaviour creates the grounds for our push for more investments in governance building and control of corruption. In March this year the corrupt official was brought to participate at EU workshop on the launch of a 5-million-euro Security Sector Reform Project. A trafficker arrested with a leopard skin in Guinea in April. The imam of a mosque from an influential family was arrested near a bus station. Trying to create a riot and blaming police for kidnapping did not prevent the team from putting him behind bars. 2 traffickers arrested with 2 leopard skins in Gabon in June. The first trafficker from Burkina Faso was taken by surprise during an attempt to sell two fresh leopard skins. A rifle caliber 12 was later found in his house. When taken to the police station, he denounced another trafficker, who was arrested in his house three days later. 1 st semester 2018 report 14

15 Reptiles 2 reptile traffickers were arrested in 2 operations in 2 countries. 41 shells of threatened sea turtles, 24 python skins and 3.5 kg of sea horses were seized. A trafficker arrested with 41 sea turtle shells and 3.5 kg of sea horses in Senegal in March. He was arrested in his shop. He used to sell the shells to tourists as souvenirs, killing hundreds of them by breaking the shell by a pickaxe to puncture the lungs suffocating them to death. Several of them were Hawksbill Turtles, a critically endangered species. Sea horses trafficking is an overlooked crime, common in coastal African countries. They are sold as souvenirs or trafficked to China where they are sold in the traditional medicine business. A trafficker arrested with 22 python skins in Guinea in April. He is a graduated civil engineer, he was arrested in the act when selling the skins. He was trafficking wildlife products to Mali and other countries. The seized contraband is just a small fraction of the widespread illegal market with reptile skins. 1 st semester 2018 report 15

16 5. Legal Follow up The legal departments in the 8 countries followed up the court cases of the 104 arrested traffickers. All the court cases were followed fighting corruption and ensuring imprisonment terms handed. 92% of the arrested traffickers remained behind bars while on trial, at least for its beginning. During the semester 68 traffickers were prosecuted and condemned, 33 of them to imprisonment sentences of various time, while other remain behind the bars awaiting trial. In Gabon the magistrates were on strike since end of 2017 so there was no audience in all the country till end of June. However most of traffickers are in jail and are being convincted soon. 2 traffickers, arrested in December 2017 with 2 dead chimpanzees and alive chimp baby, were prosecuted and sentenced to one year in jail, the maximum sentence possible, and to pay over 55,000 USD in fines and damages each in Guinea in January. 2 ivory traffickers were prosecuted and sentenced to 1 year in jail in Uganda in January. They were arrested in September 2017 with 4 tusks. An ivory trafficker, arrested in November 2017 with 2 tusks, was sentenced 2 years and 10 months in prison in Uganda in January. A trafficker, arrested in July with one okapi skin and 4 ivory tusks, was sentenced to 10 months in jail in Uganda in January. Two ivory traffickers, arrested in Guinea January, were sentenced to 6 months in jail, and the third one to 2 months in jail in March. The EAGLE Togo legal team followed up a case of two Beninese poachers arrested after killing a hippo in March. They were swiftly prosecuted. One was sentenced to 1.5 year in prison for the killing of an endangered species in a protected area and the illegal possession of a weapon. The second one was released due to lack of evidence. A third Beninese, on the run, has been convicted to 6 months in prison. 3 ivory traffickers arrested with 8 ivory tusks in the centre of Congo in April were swiftly prosecuted and sentenced to jail, one of them for 3 years, the two others for 2 years in prison. 5 ivory traffickers, arrested in January 2018, were prosecuted in Congo in May. 3 of them were sentenced to 3 years in jail, while the two others to 1.5 year suspended. 2 ivory traffickers, arrested in February 2018 in Congo, one of them former military officer, were prosecuted and sentenced to one year in jail both in April. GALF followed a case of leopard skin trafficker, arrested by wildlife authorities with one leopard skin at the end of March together with the head of hunter s association and a conservator of a protected area. They were prosecuted this month. While the conservator received suspended sentence of 3 months, the two poachers were sentenced to one year in jail. 1 st semester 2018 report 16

17 The legal team followed up the case of the arrest of traffickers, one of them Chinese, arrested at the International Airport in Cotonou during a routine control by the Airport Anti-Traffics Unit in March. They intended to ship twenty-three jute bags containing pangolin scales from Nigeria with of total weight of 513 kg. In May the Chinese trafficker was sentenced to 3 years in jail, while the other traffickers were handed a suspended sentence. The PALF legal team provided legal support to the case of poachers arrested in the Odzala-Konkoua National Park in June. 3 traffickers were sentenced from 2 to 3 years in jail for elephant and pangolin slaughter and for keeping a weapon illegally. Two ivory traffickers sentenced to 6 months in jail in Congo in June. They were arrested in March 2018 with 24 kg of ivory and some pangolin scales. 2 ivory traffickers were sentenced to 6 months in jail in Gabon in June, the highest sentence possible in Gabon. They were arrested in May with 2 tusks. 3 ivory traffickers were also sentenced to 6 months. They were arrested in January with 16 tusks. 2 ape traffickers arrested with a baby chimpanzee in November last year in Guinea were prosecuted and sentenced to 7 months in jail in June. 1 st semester 2018 report 17

18 6. Media Using the media to inform the public that the law is being actively enforced maximizes the deterrent value of our actions and the rising risks for potential traffickers to get to jail. 1,471 media pieces on EAGLE arrests and prosecutions were published in national media in eight countries. The distribution of the media pieces on national media were 24% in print media, 60% on internet, 29% in radio and 10% on TV. Split of Media Pieces 24,41% 60,05% 9,70% 29,18% Print media Radio TV Internet Fig. 4: Split of Media Pieces 1 st semester 2018 report 18

19 Numbers of media pieces published in January - June January February March April May June Fig. 5: Number of Media pieces published nationally in January June 2018 International media Many of international media informed about the major crackdown in Côte d Ivoire against an international ivory trafficking network. Some examples are below: NY Times: Ivory Coast Arrests Six in Ring That Smuggled Parts of Elephants, Leopards and Pangolins Link to NY Times Reuters: Ivory Coast seizes huge haul of elephant tusks and pangolin scales Link to Reuters Daily Mail: Ivory Coast seizes huge haul of elephant tusks and pangolin scales Link to Daily Mail Yahoo News: Ivory Coast seizes huge haul of elephant tusks and pangolin scales Link to Yahoo News New Straight Times: Ivory Coast seizes huge haul of elephant tusks and pangolin scales Link to New Straight Times 1 st semester 2018 report 19

20 VN Express (Vietnam): Ivory Coast seizes huge haul of elephant tusks en route to Vietnam: Link to VN Express Le Quotidien: Criminalie faunique - Trafic international d Ivoire : Un important réseau criminel vietnamien aux arrêts Link to Le Quotidien La Nouvette Tribune : Afrique : Un vietnamien et sa bande arrêtés à Abidjan avec 578 kg d ivoire Link to La Nouvelle Tribune 1 st semester 2018 report 20

21 7. External Relations Building a relationship of equals with government that is an exception from normal NGO-Government relationships and centering on the fight against corruption, ensuring effective enforcement and consequences for lack of law application is one of the main objectives of the EAGLE Network. This is realized through fostering government relations and engaging the international community to ensure good governance and law application, while pushing the EAGLE Network international messages of larger change. Fostering EAGLE Network s relations with Embassies and other members of the international community is therefore of high importance in the sensitive domain of law enforcement. During this semester, the EAGLE activists held many meetings with international authorities, government officials within and outside of their countries, meetings with traditional rulers, they cooperated with local and international NGOs, participated in conferences and conducted several trainings. Cameroon The Deputy Director attended a meeting organized by TRAFFIC in January, which brought together a US Embassy official, WWF, and ZSL, to prepare for the World Pangolin Day, coming up the following month. He also held a meeting with Chris Plowman, ZSL law enforcement coordinator who was on a working visit to Cameroon. In February the Deputy Director accompanied by the veterinarian of Ape Action Africa held a meeting with the Director of Wildlife and Protected areas to convince the ministry officials to allow the baby chimpanzee, seized during an operation last month, to be sent to the Mefou wildlife sanctuary where adequate structures and support are available. The Deputy Director had a presentation on corruption in wildlife law enforcement at the French Cultural Centre in February and held a meeting with the officials of the CABAG project. He also held a meeting with officials of the European Union to discuss the court trial of two arrested in Djoum with 216 ivory tusks in the car of a gendarmerie colonel. The Deputy Director was one of the panelists and made a presentation on LAGA s enforcement work with government at a workshop in Addis Ababa on the use of GIS in combatting wildlife crime in March. The workshop brought together CSOs, institutions and government representatives who work principally in the field of GIS, Geography, and data. The aim of the workshop was to come out with a GIS platform that all can use to combatting trafficking and equally participate in providing data for the platform. In March the Deputy Director held a meeting with the President of the association Papaye International on the chimpanzees conservation and the association s role in the Douala Edea Reserve. He also held a 1 st semester 2018 report 21

22 meeting with Russ Stanford of the USFWS on collaboration in combating wildlife crime. He held another meeting in March with the new Deputy Chief of the Political - Economic section of the US Embassy, Jonathan Baas, and the environment specialist Ramatou Njanzou on continuing collaboration with the Embassy. He participated in a workshop on combatting corruption in wildlife law enforcement held in Yaoundé. The Deputy Director carried out an anti-corruption training for students of the Garoua Wildlife School that trains wildlife specialists from Francophone African countries in April. In April the Deputy Director held a meeting with Damaris Thompson of the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement of the US State Department, to review wildlife trafficking and law enforcement efforts in the country. He also accompanied her during a visit to the Mvogbetsi Zoo. Ofir Drori, the LAGA Coordinator, arrived to Cameroon in June to hold several meetings with the Minister of Forestry and Wildlife. During one of the meetings with the minister, he was accompanied by the deputy director. They discussed issues of collaboration and wildlife law enforcement. The Coordinator and the Deputy Director also met with the British High Commissioner, French Ambassador, the Belgian Ambassador and the European Union Head of Mission to discuss the wildlife law enforcement process in the country and its associated governance problems. They held a meeting with ZSL officials to examine the state of collaboration and proposals for better partnership. The Deputy Director held meetings in June with some US Embassy officials to discuss strategies for effective wildlife law enforcement. He participated in a workshop on illegal wildlife crime organized by the British High Commission. He held a meeting with the Secretary General at the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife together with the Head of Investigations and Legal Departments. Discussions focused on investigations at the Nsimalen airport. They also met with the chief of Nsimalen wildlife and forestry control post and the customs chief of brigade at the airport s freight section. He also held a meeting with Mary Pons of the Papaye chimp sanctuary who was accompanied by the conservator of the Douala Edea Reserve, the meeting focused on examining and proposing solutions to some conservation and security problems at the sanctuary. Repubic of the Congo The Assistant Coordinator met with the Director General of the Forest Economy about the procedure concerning the chimpanzee seized in Dolisie in January. She also held a meeting with the Departmental Director of Waters and Forests of Pointe-Noire on the legal follow-up of the case at the TGI of Pointe-Noire and with the Owando Departmental Director of Water and Forests, the State Counsel and the Court of Owando on the legal follow-up of cases at the TGI of Owando and the transfer of prisoners to Brazzaville. In February the Coordinator met with the Commander of Gendarmerie in Brazzaville to discuss cooperation in arrest operations. She also held several meetings with the Departmental Directors of Waters and Forests on the legal follow-up of the ongoing cases and the State Counsels in several departments. 1 st semester 2018 report 22

23 The coordinator held a meeting with the Minister of Forest economy in March to discuss the ongoing cases of wildlife crime and the damages and penalties used. She also held several meetings with the Departmental Directors of Waters and Forests on the legal follow-up of the ongoing cases and the State Counsels in several departments. The coordinator held a meeting with the Minister of Justice to introduce PALF, its objectives and challenges of fighting wildlife crime in April. She also held a series of meetings with authorities, including the General Director of the Penitentiary Administration, the Ministry of Environment Wildlife Adviser on the MEF / WCS / TAF Consortium Protocol to discuss the pending signature, the Departmental Directors of Waters and Forests on the legal follow-up of the ongoing cases and the State Counsels in several departments. In May the Coordinator participated at a workshop drafting the Legislative Guide for the Fight against Wildlife and Floristic Crime at UNODC headquarters in Vienna. The Coordinator held a series of meetings with authorities in May, including the General Director of the Penitentiary Administration, the Administrative and Legal Adviser of the MEF, the Ministry of Environment Wildlife Adviser on the MEF / WCS / TAF Consortium Protocol to discuss the pending signature, several Departmental Directors of Waters and Forests on the legal follow-up of the ongoing cases and the State Counsels in several departments. Gabon The coordinator held meetings with several authorities including the Director of Cabinet, the Director General of Waters and Forests, representatives of EU, French and US Embassies in March. The coordinator travelled to Congo and Central African Republic to meet with WWF, WCS and African Parks representatives, where he discussed cooperation in fighting wildlife crime in May. Guinea The Coordinator had a meeting with the UK Ambassador and the External Relations Officer of the UK Embassy to discuss the project activities and the support of the Ambassador in the fight against wildlife crime in January. He also held a series of meetings with Guinea authorities including the Focal Point of the Fight Against Wildlife Crime of the Ministry of Environment, the General Director of the Corps des Conservateurs de la Nature, the Focal Point of CITES, the General Director of Water and Forests, several State Counsels and Regional Directors of Water and Forests and others. He also met with the Director of Guinea Ecology, the Coordinator of WABICC and with the USAID Representatives. 1 st semester 2018 report 23

24 Charlotte Houpline, the director of WARA, travelled to UK in February to participate at a workshop organized by ARCUS foundation, bringing together twenty experts on the illegal trafficking of great apes in the world. She also held a meeting with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of UK to discuss the London Summit on International Wildlife Trafficking planned for October, and participation of Guinea at the Summit. The media officer and a legal adviser participated in a workshop on rays and sharks conservation organized by the CITES Management Authority in February. The workshop focused on identifying threats to fish species, mainly rays and sharks. It was attended by custom officers, scientific authority of CITES, the Representative of the Ministry of the Environment, the Police and conservation organizations. The WARA Director and the Coordinator participated in an EU workshop on the launch of Security Sector Reform Project in March. They met there with the Minister of Environment, Water and Forest, Head of the EU Delegation, the Regional Coordinator of UNOPS and other officials. The Head of Legal Department and one legal advisor trained officers of Conservative Corps of Nature on combating wildlife crime at a workshop organized by CITES authority in March. The coordinator met with the UK Ambassador and the Political Advisor of the US Embassy in Guinea to discuss combating wildlife crime in April. This June the new Wildlife Protection and Hunting Regulation Code was adopted by the Guinean National Assembly, increasing the sentencing penalties for wildlife trafficking to 5 years in jail and implementing CITES in better way. The GALF team, who had been one of the main actors in the creation and adoption of the new law, made the revision of the law with the Ministry of Environment and participated actively during the 3 years long process at many national workshops, made multiple revisions and corrections of the code and pushed it to the National Assembly. Togo The Assistant Coordinator conducted a mission at the border with Burkina Faso to strengthen the cooperation with the authorities controlling the border area in March. He also held a meeting with the responsible for the registration case at the Ministry of Administration to discuss the registration of EAGLE-Togo and with the Secretary of the Minister of Forestry to organize a meeting concerning the MoU. In June Jean-Claude Vignoli, who continued his mission in Togo to support the management of the team, met with the US Embassy in Togo and the Delegate Minister of Human Rights. He also held several meetings with the representatives of the Ministry of Environment to discuss the signature of the Memorandum of Understanding. 1 st semester 2018 report 24

25 Senegal The coordinator trained 51 officers of OCRTIS the (Central Office for the Repression of Illegal Traffic in Narcotics) including its Director General, and the head of the BIP on wildlife crime. She was assisted by a Commander of the DEFC and a Commander of the Internal Security Service of the French Embassy in February. The Coordinator met with the UK Ambassador and a Chief of the Border Force to discuss more effective collaboration at the country borders, the port and the international airport of Dakar in February. The Coordinator held a meeting with the Director of National Parks and the Technical Adviser of the Minister of the Environment to discuss the establishment of the deposit container for seized wildlife products and the work of the Wildlife Crime Brigade which will collaborate with SALF within the partnership agreements between SALF and the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD) in April. The Coordinator trained participants of three workshops around the country organized by UNOPS and MEDD on drafting of the PV related to the trafficking of wildlife and timber, combating Wildlife Crime and on the wildlife law in April. More than 100 officials took part in the training. SALF team participated at the 21st Session of African Forestry and Wildlife Commission of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in June. About 200 participants from 53 African countries discussed there how to sustainably manage and restore Africa s forests, landscapes and wildlife resources. The SALF team presented for three days at a stand of DEFCCS (the Directorate of Waters and Forests and Hunting) the results of its work including the trafficked and seized contraband. The stand was visited by the Minister of Environment, the Director of Water and Forest, representatives of European Union and other officials. The SALF team met with the Deputy Director of Criminal Affairs of the Ministry of Justice and several Attorneys General of the Republic, the representatives of the Instance and High Instance prosecutor s offices as well as and several Presidents and Judges of the Instance and Grande Instance courts in June. BENIN AALF-B The Assistant Coordinator trained 15 customs officers at the Cotonou International Airport on regulations and concealment techniques used in wildlife trafficking in January. The coordinator met with an US delegation including the US Ambassador in Cotonou, to introduce them the project and discuss the fight against wildlife crime in January. In March the Coordinator held a series of meetings with authorities to discuss a seizure of 513 pangolin scales at Cotonou International Airport, including the Chef of Brigade of the Airport Customs, the Director and a Lieutenant of the DGFEC and his staff of the litigation department and CITES authority, The State counsel at the Cotonou TPI and other authorities. 1 st semester 2018 report 25

26 He also held a series of meetings with more authorities including the Deputy Director of the Economic and Financial Brigade, interim of the Commissioner of the Sub-Directorate of Criminal Affairs of the Directorate of Judicial Police (DPJ) in Cotonou, Director and the wildlife affairs officer at Interpol, the Commander and Lieutenant of the Borgou Forestry Inspectorate, the Director of the Cabinet of the Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development, the Director of the Pendjari Park / APN and others. The Coordinator held a meeting with the First Counselor of the Embassy of the United States of America and the Head of the Political and Economic Section in March. In April the coordinator and the assistant coordinator trained about fifteen state counsels on wildlife crime, its legal aspects and the fight against it. They also trained about twenty INTERPOL officers in combating wildlife crime. A legal adviser participated at a workshop on combating the trafficking of CITES-listed species in transboundary protected areas organized by the French Institute of Parakou. Côte d Ivoire Ofir Drori, the founding director of EAGLE Network conducted a mission to support the operation and together with the Coordinator he held several external relations meetings in January. Both the Minister of Forestry and Minister of Interior participated at a press conference held after the arrest. There were several meetings held with the Chargé des Affairs of the US Embassy, the RSO and his deputies and other representatives of US government to assist with the case. Meetings were also held with the State Counsel General, the Republic State Counsel, his first substitute and the 4th Instruction Judge to explain the case. In February the coordinator held a series of meetings with the UCT to continue the generation of information through requisitions, as well as with the Instruction Judge for this case to explain the history of the case and discuss the strategy for a structured period of further research. He also held a meeting with the lawyer of MINEF to introduce the case and discuss the collaboration. The Coordinator met with the UK Minister for Africa, who visited Côte d Ivoire to congratulate authorities on last month s operations in February. The Minister of Water and Forestry signed the Memorandum of Understanding with EAGLE Côte d Ivoire in March. A mission by an international money laundering expert took place in May in order to develop money laundering charges for Tran Van Tu and other traffickers arrested in January. During this mission meetings were held with the UCT, the Justice system, the tax institution and the bankers association to analyze the current Ivorian situation and put the system in place for a judgment on money laundering to succeed for wildlife traffickers. 1 st semester 2018 report 26

27 8. Headquarters and Development of the EAGLE Network The coordinators and assistant coordinators from 8 French speaking countries and Ofir Drori, the founding director, participated at a 5-day training on leadership and management in Accra, Ghana, prepared by MDF Training and Consultancy Company. The training brought together almost all project leaders within EAGLE Network and allowed daily EAGLE meetings to discuss strategies and a leap towards higher level of targets similar to the latest Côte d Ivoire action. Jules Dovi has been appointed a coordinator of AALF-Benin. He joined AALF-B team in 2014 as a legal adviser and shortly after became Assistant Coordinator. He traveled to Nairobi to undergo training in management with CCU. The registration of Conservation Justice in Burkina Faso was finished and preparation of launching a new EAGLE project started. EAGLE Uganda project suspended its activities following a financial audit and subsequent results and conclusions. Later it was mutually decided NRCN s membership in the EAGLE Network be terminated. The Central Coordinating Unit of EAGLE Network continued the support to the network members. The CCU and Steering Group members conducted 11 missions to the countries to support newly started replications, to ensure better quality control and adequate support to the countries. The EAGLE members significantly raised standards of reporting, Internal Control Systems and adherence of procedures. 7 Coordinators and other team members carried support missions in other countries to help develop the other projects. exchange program to raise the professional level of our projects brought 3 activists for training in other countries. 1 st semester 2018 report 27

28 January Daniele Mbui, the Financial Officer, arrived to Senegal to support the financial department and to start a recruitment process of a new accountant. Saidou Barry, the Coordinator of Guinea, arrived to Senegal to train new team members and to discuss fostering activism with them. Ofir Drori, the founding director, travelled to Côte d Ivoire to coordinate and support the arrest operation, in which the leader, a Vietnamese national Tran Van Tu, was arrested in Abidjan with five other members of his network, a criminal syndicate that had been operating for years in at least seven different countries and is estimated to have generated the slaughter of tens of thousands of elephants for their tusks. Nicolas Charron, the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer travelled to Côte d Ivoire to support the follow up of the operation. The acting Deputy Coordinator of Togo arrived to Côte d Ivoire to support the operation. February The coordinators and assistant coordinators from 8 French speaking countries and Ofir Drori, the founding director, participated at a 5-day training on leadership and management in Accra, Ghana, prepared by MDF Training and Consultancy Company. The training brought together almost all project leaders within EAGLE Network and allowed daily EAGLE meetings to discuss strategies and a leap towards higher level of targets similar to the January Côte d Ivoire action. Nicolas Charron, the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer continued his mission to Côte d Ivoire to support the team in the post-arrest procedures, interrogations and follow up investigations after the January arrest operation. Danielle Mbui, the Financial officer, continued her mission to Senegal to support EAGLE Senegal in reorganization the accounting department and to supports the coordinator in the recruitment of a new accountant. March Ofir Drori, the founding director, had a presentation at EU Parliament on implementation of the EU Action Plan against Wildlife Trafficking and challenges of wildlife law enforcement, followed by a long discussion. He also held a series of meeting with European Commission about funding for law enforcement in West Africa. 1 st semester 2018 report 28

29 Luc Mathot, the Founding Director, arrived to Congo to support the team in management. The accountant from Benin arrived to Senegal to train a new accountant. Ofir Drori trained at a Rangers summit, organized by the South African Government, Department of Environmental Affairs. He trained on corruption and ethics more than 263 Environmental Management Inspectors (Green Scorpions). He also held a meeting with several representatives of South African NGOs active in law enforcement and animal rights and discussed further cooperation with them. Eric Tah, the Deputy Director of LAGA was one of the panelists and made a presentation on EAGLE s work with government at a workshop in Addis Ababa on the use of GIS in combatting wildlife crime. The workshop brought together CSOs, institutions and government representatives who work principally in the field of GIS, Geography, and data. The aim of the workshop was to come out with a GIS platform that all can use to combatting trafficking and equally participate in providing data for the platform. Luc Mathot, the founding director, travelled to Congo and supported management of PALF team. The new Organizational Development Officer started her test period. EAGLE Uganda project suspended its activities following a financial audit and subsequent results. April Ofir Drori and Luc Mathot, the Founding Directors, held a three days meeting to discuss the management of the entire EAGLE Network. A legal advisor from Senegal arrived to Cameroon to undergo a training within the EAGLE Network Exchange program. The Coordinator, the head of Investigation Department and one investigator from Congo participated at a training on strengthening security and investigation methods in Libreville, Gabon. The Head of the Investigations Department of Gabon arrived to Congo to support investigations. EAGLE Financial Officer arrived to Togo to support recruitment of a new accountant. Jean-Claude Vignoli arrived to Togo to support the management of the project. The Monitoring and Evaluation officer arrived to Côte d Ivoire to evaluate and train the investigators. The EAGLE Financial Officer arrived to Côte d Ivoire to assess gaps in financial management and train the accountant. 1 st semester 2018 report 29

30 May Ofir Drori, the Founding Director, held a presentation on wildlife organized crime and corruption to the meeting of 60 members of African Parliaments and European Parliament in Rwanda. He highlighted the need for cooperation, to put spotlight on cases and raise it in the priorities of national agenda. The presentation was followed by a long and lively debate and several offers for cooperation. Luc Mathot travelled to to Congo and Central African Republic to meet with WWF, WCs and African Parks representatives, where he discussed cooperation in fighting wildlife crime in the area of national parks on the Congo, CRA and Cameroon border. He also spent several days in Brazzaville and supported PALF project in management. The Head of Investigation of LAGA Cameroon travelled to Togo to support investigations. Rebeca Sandoval, a Spanish activist based in Uganda, arrived to Nairobi for training. June Jules Dovi has been appointed a coordinator of AALF-Benin. He joined AALF-B team in 2014 as a legal adviser and shortly after became Assistant Coordinator. He traveled to Nairobi to undergo training in management with CCU. Ofir Drori participated at the Wilton Park preparatory meeting for the Summit on Illegal Wildlife Trade in London, organized by UK Government. He held a series of meetings with high level officials and partners to talk about cooperation in combating wildlife crime including the UK Minister of State of Foreign Affairs, the Prime Minister s Anti-corruption Champion, representatives of INTERPOL, OECD and Environmental Investigation Agency, the analyst from the Royal Foundation and other experts involved in investigations of wildlife crime. A legal adviser from Côte d Ivoire arrived to Cameroon to undergo a training within the Exchange Program. Luc Mathot, the founding director of EAGLE Network, visited Congo to support the management of the team. The Assistant Coordinator from Gabon participated at an international workshop in Duala on combating illegal logging in Congo basin. The Head of Investigations together with another investigator from Gabon travelled to Benin to train the new investigation team. The registration of Conservation Justice in Burkina Faso was finished and preparation of launching a new EAGLE project started. 1 st semester 2018 report 30

31 9. Photos of the selected cases A Major Crackdown in Côte d Ivoire against an International Ivory Trafficking Network This is the story of how Ofir, Cecile and Rens as well as most of the Côte d Ivoire team, cancelled their holidays vacation at the last minute and instead started cooking something big for a few intensive weeks On 18 th January 2018, the EAGLE Network and the government of Côte d Ivoire began the coordination ofa crackdown operation against an international ivory trafficking network. The leader, a Vietnamese national, was arrested in Abidjan with five other members of his network, a criminal syndicate that has been operating for years in at least seven different countries and is estimated to have generated the slaughter of tens of thousands of elephants for their tusks. The arrests led to the confiscation of 478 kg ivory, over half a ton of pangolin scales, some packed and ready for export, four illegal handguns, leopard parts, 7 cutting and carving machines and more contraband. The head of the criminal organi- 1 st semester 2018 report 31

32 zation in Côte d Ivoire is directly linked to two prior seizures, one in Vietnam and another in Cambodia, where 619 kg and 941 kg of Ivory seized by authorities, respectively. The arrests were carried by the UCT (The Unit Against Transnational Organized Crime) and the Ministry of Waters and Areas with the assistance of the EAGLE Network, a wildlife law enforcement NGO. The US Government carried out an extensive investigation against the international trafficking ring. The arrests are the result of a tight American-Cote d Ivoirian enforcement collaboration. The exposed modus operandi of the syndicate consisted of hollowing out timber logs, hiding ivory inside them, and filling up the remaining space with wax. The logs were then reclosed with glue, mixed with normal timber, and exported in containers to Asia. 1 st semester 2018 report 32

33 The same method has been observed in additional seizures, in Kenya and Mozambique where more than two tons of ivory have been seized. At least four African countries (Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda, Côte d Ivoire ) and two Asian ones (Cambodia, Vietnam) are implicated, making this criminal syndicate an extremely important one in wildlife trafficking. Phone analysis shows calls from those arrested to three known tax haven countries. The extent of the money laundering hints at the level of organization in the syndicate s operations. One of those arrested in the operation, a Chinese national, was found in possession of pages listing the identities of young Ivorian women, their pictures, height and weight, and whether they had a female genital mutilation. This starts an investigation on Traffic in Persons for prostitution in China using fake passports. Moussa Ouedraogo the right hand of Tran Van Tu, was arrested in March. Moussa was the one delivering tons of ivory in containers. He also played an important role in delivering the ivory for the syndicate. At the time of the arrest of the Vietnamese, Moussa was in Burkina Faso. After all the arrests in January his chances of reappearing were slim. But he did - probably because he felt protected by his complicity connections with the authorities in San Pedro. Because of the same corruption, the legal adviser of EAGLE Côte d Ivoire went alone to San Pedro, with two agents of the UCT, to start discretely verifying Moussa s presence without informing local authorities. After 48 hours of around the clock surveillance, Moussa was arrested in his house in an operation led by UCT and EAGLE Côte d Ivoire with the help of local gendarmerie. 1 st semester 2018 report 33

34 A Baby Chimp Rescued and 3 Traffickers Arrested in Cameroon One of the three is a Niger national. The baby chimp was found concealed inside a toilet of a house belonging to one of the traffickers; 80 kg of pangolin scales were behind the main door. Two traffickers were arrested inside the house, the third, who arrived on a bike, stumbled on the arresting team that gave him no chance as he attempted to escape. The baby chimp has been taken to the Mvogbetsi zoo that lacks appropriate structure, the expertise and the manpower to cater for the chimp, which risks dying from negligence, therefore LAGA team pushed the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife to send him to an appropriate sanctuary. 1 st semester 2018 report 34

35 6 Traffickers Arrested with 15 Tusks in the North of Congo One member of the ring is Cameroonian and he had been organizing poaching squads. The ring was activating poachers, supplying guns and ammunition. An automatic assault rifle with 4 magazines was seized as well as a motorcycle, used to transport the contraband. For transport to the place of transaction the traffickers concealed the ivory under a carpet in the trunk of a taxi, in the space used for a spare wheel, so it went unnoticed at checkpoints. 1 st semester 2018 report 35

36 13 Ivory Traffickers Including a Corrupt Gendarme Arrested in 4 operations in Gabon in May 4 ivory traffickers were arrested at a coast town on the South of the country. First a Nigerian trafficker was arrested during an attempt to sell 27 kg of ivory. As a head of a large ivory trafficking ring operating in coastal area he had been in a target of investigations for several months. He denounced three more criminals, including a corrupt gendarme at the Naval Brigade, who was providing poachers with ammunition. A logging company officer was arrested trafficking two tusks in the centre of the country. An ivory trafficker was arrested with 2 ivory tusks, elephant hairs and leopard teeth. 3 traffickers were arrested with 2 ivory tusks, one of them Nigerian, in the East of the country. The Nigerian trafficker, well known to authorities as a longterm criminal, was arrested in a hotel room when he was waiting for his client. He quickly denounced two more traffickers involved in the case, they were arrested afterwards in their houses. 4 ivory traffickers were arrested with 4 tusks in the North-East of the country. First of them, a notorious Nigerian trafficker, was arrested in the act with the contraband. After arriving to the police station, he denounced three other traffickers involved in the illegal activity. 1 st semester 2018 report 36

37 2 Traffickers Arrested, and a Baby Chimp Rescued in Guinea in June First trafficker was arrested during an attempt to sell the baby, and soon he denounced his sister, who had been holding the chimp for several days after it was trafficked from Boke mining area, where the chimp s family probably fell victim to the bushmeat trade. The small male, who was very weak and in a bad condition, was quickly handed to professionals from the Chimpanzee Conservation Center for lifetime care. This is the 20 th chimp saved in a GALF arrest operation since 2012, when the project started. 1 st semester 2018 report 37

38 11 Ivory Traffickers Arrested in Benin in Two Operations in June 6 ivory traffickers including an army man were arrested in the capital city with 4 ivory tusks. The soldier, who organized the transaction, was arrested together with four other traffickers in a restaurant in the act. At the police station they quickly denounced the last trafficker, who was arrested the same day at his house. He had links to other trafficking ring in the country, trafficking ivory regularly, bringing these 4 tusks from Niger. 5 ivory traffickers were arrested in the North of the country during the second opera- tion. Two traffickers were arrested in a hotel during an attempt to sell 2 tusks and one piece of ivory right after they arrived with the contraband concealed in a plastic bag. They denounced a father of one of them, the owner of the ivory, who was arrested in his house. Two more traffickers were arrested later, when they wanted to pick up their share of the illegally made profit. THE EAGLE Network EAGLE: Eco Activists for Governance and Law Enforcement, is a network of members across Africa, who are replicating effectively a program and operational model to undertake wildlife law enforcement, which is based on the LAGA-Cameroon model, trailed, practiced and tested since The EAGLE Network currently operates in nine African countries and keeps expanding. The over-arching objective of the EAGLE Network is: Developing civic activism and collaborating with governments and civil society to improve the application of national and international environmental legislation, through a program of activities: investigations, arrests, prosecutions and publicity. Through this, EAGLE aims to generate a strong deterrent against the illegal trade in wildlife, timber and related criminal activities, including corruption. Contacts: 1. Cameroon LAGA: ofir@eagle-enforcement.org 2. Congo PALF: perrine@eagle-enforcement.org 3. Gabon AALF: luc@eagle-enforcement.org 4. Guinea GALF: - saidou@eagle-enforcement.org 5. Togo EAGLE-Togo: rens@eagle-enforcement.org 6. Senegal SALF: cebloch@eagle-enforcement.org 7. Benin - AALF-B: jules@eagle-enforcement.org 8. Côte d Ivoire - EAGLE Côte d Ivoire: rens@eagle-enforcement.org 1 st semester 2018 report 38